Yard Sale Treasures

Yard sale season has cranked into full gear in NC, and for the first time in awhile, I don’t necessarily have to set a strict yard sale budget, but I do have to be careful not to replace all the “great stuff” I just cleared during my spontaneous yard sale, for more great stuff.
My yard sale shopping is really a key aspect of our low monthly budget. It’s my main source for our wardrobe, so it’s included in our clothing expenses, but it also covers household, and even entertainment. Yes, it’s a lot of my entertainment budget. I shop ahead for the kids, so I don’t think “seasonally” when buying.
My fun find today was something I have been pondering buying new for awhile, but just couldn’t get myself to pull the trigger. I love to search for the perfect bedding, and I do swap mine out each winter and summer. I painted our bedroom too long ago with a $5 Oops paint that I purchased at Home Depot without much regard for a long term look. It’s needed an update for years, but I have prioritized other projects. I’ve been looking at some new bedding now, and came to the decision I would splurge a little for something I loved, and paint the room a more neutral color so that I can have fun swapping accessories. Today though, I found bedding I love at a price a treasure hunter dreams about.
The seller had the above bedding priced at a mere $30 for the comforter, four shams, and three throw pillows (pictured above.) She mentioned it had never been used (and since it was found in a really nice neighborhood, I am sure it’s true.) I found a small water mark on two shams, and asked if she’d come down at all due to that, and she graciously said, “Sure, how about $15?”
$15? SOLD! I was thinking $25.
I am THRILLED! It’s even prettier in real life, but now the dilemma is what color to pain the walls?? Do I go with a soft gray? I am a bit stumped on this one, since my winter comforter has red in it. I may be sticking with this one.
These like-new throw pillows were only $0.50/piece. Again, never used. She had about ten, and I was tempted to get them all, but the colors didn’t match any of my other rooms.
American Girl items have been a staple in our home for awhile, but my oldest daughter doesn’t play with them anymore, so in the big splurge, I spontaneously sold many of my AG furniture pieces last week. Of course that would happen one week before I found a yard sale where they were selling TEN American Girl dolls, and hundreds of pieces of clothing. I have never seen anything like it at a yard sale before, and so we snatched up Kit for only $10 (yes, $10 because their daughter had given her a little hair cut). All other AG dolls were only $20, and now I wish I would have bought some to share with you all because that is a collectors dream.We have quite a few AG clothes already that I am saving to pass down to grand children, but like a good frugal fashionista my daughter wanted to get a few more shoes, clothes, Kit’s doll, and these fun crutches and cast at just $1/piece.Rainbows have been on my 11 year old daughter’s wish list since Christmas, but I explained I will not pay full price for a “label,” and that we’d wait patiently to find them at a yard sale. Today was her day, and for a mere $1.
A few of our other finds included some fun books, 5 Hanes Tshirts – (never been opened in package) for my hubby ($2), and three pair of Gymboree shorts for $1/piece. Yes, I really did stick with more “needs” than wants. 😉
One tip with yard sale shopping is to use it as a life learning lesson for your kids. Including your children in the buying process is a wonderful way to help train them in some important skills like learning how to negotiate. When my daughter brought her stack of clothes to me, and inquired if we could buy them, I was in a conversation at another yard sale. I asked her how much they wanted. She went and asked herself and found out they were 3 for $5. Since I won’t pay more than $1 for her clothes, I told her to offer 3 for $3. It was a deal, and my 7 year old negotiated the entire purchase. I never even made it to that yard sale. 😉 It’s a great skill to learn at an early age.
So, my yard sale purchases were small in number, but huge in treasure quality.Did you find any yard sale treasures this week?

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24 Comments

Nikki
on April 30, 2011 at 8:27 pm

found an awesome cruiser bike for just $25, it was only two years old and perfect condition. also found some amazing summer tops, layering pieces, and dresses for me!! i love garage saling!!

That is awesome! I need to start searching out yard sales. Of course, it needs to stop raining here. Great idea about getting the kids involved. I do wish my mom had taught me how to use coupons and how to shop for deals. I learned a lot on my own when I got a job but not enough. I didn’t even know my mom couponed until a few years ago when I started learning how! My kids already know to look for coupons and sales 🙂
Beautiful bedding!!
Blessings,
Mel
Please feel free to stop by: Trailing After God

What awesome finds. My daughter would have been in heaven at the American Girl yard sale. Even used on Craigslist I’ve never seen them cheaper than $50 for really rough looking dolls. Score! I am a thrift store shopper, but not much of a yard sale-er. Maybe I need to start spending my Saturday mornings saving some money :).

Oh yeah. Today rocked for sales. My daughter brought home two chairs for 3 dollars a piece. Gorgeous sunflower yellow tweed swivels with silver bases–even if we reupholster them, they are in amazing shape. And I had her boyfriend go and negotiate, as well. A very good lesson for them!

You scored some fantastic deals. I’m actually kind of blown away! I started the yard sale circuit last weekend. Didn’t find anything I was looking for, and unfortunately, this weekend, armed with the list of sales I wanted to attend in hand, it started raining, so after two “indoor” ones, I went back home. But, next weekend is another weekend. Whoo!hoo!

Last weekend I was able to get a couch for our new house at an estate sale for $150. Neutral color, good condition. Then in the afternoon my mom and I went to an antique mall where I found four very nice and pretty dining room chairs for $50 for the set! At the thrift store I had been seeing really ratty chairs for $20 a piece! I was thrilled. God is providing as we had to leave furniture behind unexpectedly when we made our move because of not enough room on the truck.
This weekend I spent a grand total of $1.25 for a set of vintage Christmas lights and a vintage shiny bright ornament that I collect, a floral frog which I also collect and an old wooden brush to hang on the wall as decoration. The main thing I found though was the chance to brighten someone else’s day at one of the yard sales. God gave me the opportunity to help me through my own feelings of loneliness after moving to a new state. He is good in so many ways! Kelly

I snagged a collapsable bike stand for just $5! My brother is a bike commuter and is constantly switching out parts for repair so a second stand will be great! I got a few other .50 items as well. It was a neighborhood garage sale but was rather disappointing. Most were super small and even more didn’t even participate. Oh well. I found my diamond in the rough!

Went to a church rummage sale and bought a pair of black leather Clarks riding boots for $1. Not brand new but very little wear.They are a size too big, but I’ll wear thick socks with them next winter. LOL. Also got a Lego hardcover book for my boys for $.50 and an Ann Taylor black cardigan in excellent used condition for $1.50. Also bought some heavy silver plated serving trays (made in USA) for $2 each (never used). Church rummage sales are the best! 🙂

My husband and I look for items to use in our house so that we don’t have to buy them in the store. We bought a box of misc items (three rolls of tape, two bags of coffee filters never opened and a box of bandaids) for $1.50. We also found a two tier metal and bamboo shelf for $5. Yard sales are just starting up around here but we are ready for the season.

I love your finds! The weather this spring in PA has been tough so I have not been to a yard sale yet, but I just bought a pair of snow skiis on Ebay for $65! It pays to get things off season!
I am looking forward to garage sales- we’ve been saving our quarters!

Super fantastic deals on the AG stuff! I have SIX daughters and all but the oldest pours over the catalog! Even our 1 1/2 yr old prefers the Bitty Baby doll of her sisters to every other doll. One of my daughters was looking over my shoulder admiring your score! She wanted me to remind you that you can send your daughters doll to the AG hospital for new hair if you wanted. They come back in a hospital gown with an id bracelet. Maybe for a bday. I think it is about $20.
Yard sales in VA are just starting. Last Saturday I was dashing into town with some kids for a last minute Easter shopping. We approached a sale and I was hesitant to stop as the hostess was older and most likely there wasnt anything I needed. The girls begged and I relented. Boy was it golden! Everything was 1/2 price since it was the second day. Thankfully, not many people were out on Good Friday. The woman was hosting the sale for her grand daughter who was having her 2nd child. She had gorgeous clothes and home decor. I picked up lots of Pottery Barn candles, glassware, Taunton press books and a chic Banana Republic jacket that I wore to a function last night and received lots of compliments. It was so hard to just say “thank you!” and not preen over the price ($1).
Love the bedding. How about a taupe color? does it go with the red as well. Let us know what you decide!
Happy trails!

I am jealous of your AG doll find 🙂 I probably would’ve asked for a package deal on all of them, since I have two little girls and while I want them to have the dolls, I’m not so sure I want my own childhood Samantha and Felicity to be the possible recipient of a haircut.
We went yard saling yesterday and got a hammock with a stand for $25. Perfect timing since we are working on getting our yard fixed up and spending more time out there. I also got a box of polymer clay and accessories, probably $50+ worth of NIP stuff, for $5. It was a good day.

I haven’t been able to really get out to any yard sales, yet, but I have been racking up at our local Goodwill store. I have found so many shorts for my boys (Oshkosh, Gymboree, Carter’s, etc.) in the boys bin. Everything in there is $1.39, so that’s a great deal for me. I also found a bread machine, and I splurged on it for $6.99. I’ve already used it to make 2 loaved of bread and 2 pizza crusts!

Garage Sales are just begining to pop up here in MN – this spring has been so dang cold!! My hometown’s city wide gargae sale is this weekend and I will be participating and trying to clear out some clutter. Buuuttt…
I did score at GoodWill today at the 50% off sale on yellow tags. I got a brand new pair of Merona brown ankle boots w/original tags for $4.- to wear next fall and spring (or now!), a pair of brown capris for $2.49 that look brand new, a Maurices plaid shirt with white thermal long sleeves for $2.49 that again looks brand new, and a white tank top with red, white and blue rhinestone stars on it for $2.-. I did see a cute as heck dress but it would have been a splurg. So I will return on Tuesday for the $1.49 tag sale and if it is still there I will grab it. Love GoodWill!! 🙂

We LOVE garage (yard) sales! My daughter and I go at least twice a month! Of course, where we live in Texas, the season is almost year round. We’ve found lots of bargains. When I started babysitting my youngest daughters two children, we got toys and sippy cups at garage sales, not to mention a stroller and car seats!
What is wrong with an off white for your paint dilemma? Say, a bone color, or maybe eggshell? I try to stay really neutral in the living room and bedrooms so I have the freedom to change things up if I want. Now, my hall is a very soft green color, and the boys’ bathroom is a fun blue color. I havent quite decided whether to do the master bath in a light lavender or a green….

Hello, i thought you might like to know that that doll is not kit. Kit has blue eyes and freckles I know this because I’m an American girl doll collector and I have kit. But congrats! You just found a very rare doll called kailey, she was a limited edition doll from 2003 and she is a bit hard to find on the secondary market. Kailey originally had hair down to her chest, if your daughter wants kailey to have longer hair you can send her doll to the American girl doll hospital to have her head replaced.